Anita Roddick

Anita Lucia Perilli was born on October 23, 1942, in Littlehampton, Sussex, to Italian immigrant parents. Traveling the world with the United Nations and studying farming practices in Polynesia, Africa, and Australia, Roddick observed indigenous women using natural plant oils and cocoa butter for skin care. In 1976, she opened a modest shop in Brighton selling naturally based cosmetics in refillable urine-sample bottles to save money.

That single shop grew into 'The Body Shop', a worldwide franchise of over 2,000 stores in 50 countries. Roddick fundamentally altered modern global capitalism by refusing traditional advertising, instead using her storefront windows to campaign for Greenpeace, Amnesty International, rainforest preservation, and the banning of animal testing in cosmetics. Through her 'Trade Not Aid' (later Community Fair Trade) initiative, she sourced natural ingredients directly from marginalized communities in Ghana, Nepal, and Brazil.

Appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2003, Roddick donated her entire multimillion-pound fortune to human rights and environmental charities upon her retirement. She passed away on September 10, 2007, remembered as the pioneer who proved that ethical conscience and commercial success could unite.